Wow. I can’t believe that my semester abroad is already over! I had such an amazing time in Buenos Aires, and I will definitely be advocating for other students from UR to choose to study abroad in Argentina–or at least in South America. My semester was so different than what I expected it to be, but in the best way possible. I am truly going to miss my host family, my new friends from all over the world, and the city itself.

I learned an incredible amount about Argentine culture. I also came to realize that every single country and the provinces within them in South America are so unique and different. Before actually living there, I had sort of grouped all of the countries together under one big category. However, they are truly so distinct and are proud to tell you about how their nation differs from others. Once, two of my friends started playfully arguing about whether Argentine or Venezuelan empanadas were better. It turns out they are made in a completely different way and filled with different meat! This is just another example of something that I would never have expected to be so distinct in every individual country.

Before I left, I wrote that one of my goals was to improve my Spanish-speaking skills, and I think I definitely succeeded. I am not fully fluent yet, but I can certainly understand people speaking very well, and can come up with a coherent response in Spanish. I credit this to my host mom, who only ever spoke to me in Spanish!

Another one of my goals was to play a lot of soccer while I was down there. I am very happy with how much I was able to play, and I am so thankful for all the friends that I made through Buenos Aires Futbol Amigos. Above is a photo of a few of my friends and I after a tournament! I had an amazing experience that I will never forget!

Chau!

Ella

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This past week has been crazy busy for me since it was finals week, the beginning of the World Cup, and my family came down to visit! Obviously, I hadn’t seen my parents or brothers for the four months that I have been down in South America, which was really hard for me. I was so happy to see them and felt so lucky that they were all able to make the trip down. We had such a good time together.

We did so many activities, like a tour of the Recoleta Cemetery! I had walked through the cemetery tons of times but had never done and actual tour. I learned so much about all the different mausoleums within the cemetery. Did you know that real estate companies buy the mausoleums from families that don’t want to maintain them anymore, and sell them to other families who hope to obtain a single place where they can bury all their loved ones? It was so interesting to learn about and observe the tombs of some of Argentina’s most important people. The cemetery is home to many Argentine writers, scientists, military leaders, sports figures, presidents, and politicians, one of the most famous being Eva Perón.

We also took a visit to the MALBA, one of my favorite museums in Buenos Aires. Here’s me observing a self portrait of Frida Kahlo with a monkey featured in the museum.

Here’s the whole fam at caminito in La Boca neighborhood! My brothers love soccer and were so excited to see the famous La Bombonera Stadium where the Boca Juniors club plays.

Finally, we were lucky enough to snag seats at a restaurant to watch la Selección (the Argentine National Futbol Team) play in their first two games in the World Cup! I feel like my family is just as excited as the rest of the country that Argentina is moving on to the round of sixteen starting this weekend!

Things have been getting kind of crazy here since finals are coming up! This week I wanted to write about my amazing trip to the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, Argentina. I went with four of my good friends that I met here in Buenos Aires at the Universidad Católica Argentina.

First we traveled to the cities of Humahuaca and Tilcara, which were absolutely incredible. The mountains were breathtaking.

Next, we went to Purmamarca, and to the Salinas Grandes, or salt flats, which went on as far as the eye could see. We learned that the government harvests the salt to sell! I had never seen anything like it in my life. We thought our car looked cool against the barren landscape.

Last, we went to the city of Cafayate, which is kind of off the beaten path. None of our friends had been there before, so we weren’t sure exactly what to expect but we ended up having such a great time. The bodegas weren’t all open since it is the low season in terms of tourism, but the ones that we found were so cute and nice. I think this is my favorite city I’ve been to in Argentina outside of Buenos Aires. I can’t tell you how calm and relaxing it was! Also, the people we met were so nice and friendly.

The whole trip was an incredible experience, but the highlight was definitely the hike that we went on in Cafayate. Our guide took us all the way to the top of steep mountain, where we could see the whole city below us. On our way up we saw five different waterfalls, and a whole herd of wild mountain goats!

Now that I’m back in BA, I really have to hit the books this week so that I’m ready for finals!

Hello!!! This week, my awesome host fam brought me to watch a professional soccer game of one of the “big five” clubs of Argentine futbol. RACING! Racing Club plays in the top division of the Argentina league system.

Here’s what their logo looks like. I didn’t have a jersey of theirs when I attended the match, but I made sure to wear light blue and white. Everyone there was completely dressed in Racing gear. It was amazing!

I loved seeing how all the different neighborhoods and areas of greater Buenos Aires made signs and banners with their neighborhood names. Other banners had phrases on them such as “Racing, I love you so much it hurts.” Everyone sang and jumped throughout the whole game. It was such a different culture than that of soccer games in the US.

Also this past weekend, I played in a co-ed soccer tournament with the soccer organization that I joined here, Buenos Aires Futbol Amigos! It was an insanely fun tournament. Each team played about 6 games, 15 minutes each. I was super tired by the end!

When my team got eliminated, the team that beat us asked me to join their team to play in the championship since one of their girls got injured! The matches were really competitive but friendly afterwards which I appreciated.

See you next week!

Ella

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So I have officially been here for a full three months. It is crazy to think that I only have two months left in Argentina! The time has really flown by. Apologies for the two travel posts in a row, but my friends and I are trying to see everything before we leave!

This past weekend, my two friends and I went to Mendoza, Argentina! It was such a nice break from the recently rainy Buenos Aires; we had warm sunny days the whole time we were there! I really loved walking around and exploring the city, as well as doing the little excursions we had planned.

The first place we went in Mendoza was the Reserva Natural Divisadero Largo which was a mini nature reserve with a bunch of cool hikes. It was only a 15min taxi ride outside of the city!

We chose to hike the longest trail which took us about an hour but gave us such amazing views. Many of the mountains surrounding us were a deep red color, it reminded me of Arizona in the US.

Another activity we did while we were there was biking around to each of the bodegas in an area called Maipu. The little bodegas were adorable and had huge vineyards. The views while we were biking were incredible, since we could see the Andes mountains along the horizon throughout the whole ride.

Our last activity while in Mendoza was horseback riding! We went to a little estancia at the foot of the Andes and rode horses and had dinner with the owners as well as a bunch of other travelers!

My horse was named Gringa, which I thought was fitting!! She loved running, which stressed me out a bit since I was holding my camera and trying to take pictures while riding.

Chau for now!

Ella

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I think this last week has been one of the best of my study abroad experience. Last weekend, I took a trip to Santiago, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, Chile. It was the first time I had really gone somewhere completely solo, but it wasn’t too bad because I was able to visit two of my friends from my hometown that are currently living in Chile. I had such an incredible trip!

The first place I went was Valparaiso, and this was the view of the sunset from my hostel! It was amazing, I physically couldn’t stop taking photos. I was lucky to be able to find a free walking tour while I was there, so I was really able to explore and get to know the city.

The next place I went was Viña del Mar, where one of my friends have been living since August. It was such a beautiful city, and I couldn’t believe how beautiful the beaches were there.

I was so lucky to have a friend that was able to show me around Viña. One of my favorite parts was when I went to watch the sunset on the beach. While the sun was going down, we came across a guy selling chocolate covered strawberries on a stick on the pier where we were sitting. They were so delicious!

Another great part of my trip was the few days I spent in Santiago. My friend and I went on a hike called Cerro Manquehue where, at the top, you can look out over all of Santiago. I had never seen anything like it!

It was such a great opportunity to be able to compare two Latin American countries that are so close to each other yet are still so different. Chileans use so much slang and speak so quickly, I could barely understand their Spanish! I really enjoyed discussing with my friends the differences in culture between Chile and Argentina. I feel like many times in the US we group all the nations in Latin America into one category, but they are truly so distinct. My trip to Chile really gave me some perspective and definitely broadened my worldview.

See you next week!

Ella

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Hola from BA! Since we loved our tango lesson a few weeks back, this week my friend and I decided to take a salsa/bachata dance class. It was being offered for just $1 for international students! Honestly, neither of us are the most coordinated dancers, but we had so much fun trying out the dances and laughing with the other international students.

Every weekend there are little fairs (ferias) around the city selling gifts, souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, and practically anything else you can think of! My friends and I spent a lot of time walking around this one in Palermo, and I loved the little paper cranes that this person had hanging throughout her stand. The funniest thing I saw being sold were tshirts for small dogs! I was so tempted to buy one to bring home for my dog.

After walking around the feria for a while, we wandered around Palermo a bit, taking in all the beautiful sights. I feel like Palermo is known for its street art and giant walls covered in all sorts of painting and graffiti. Here was one wall that we thought was really cool.

Also this week, I came across a juice bar/açaí bowl place called Be Juice. The bowl I ordered was absolutely amazing and I pretty much inhaled it. I think I had really been craving a meal like this since I eat this type of food so often back home! Be Juice was the closest thing I could find to RVA’s Ginger Juice, one of my all time favorite restaurants.